I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 23 First Hearing of Flying Swords
The night is as cold as water.

The moonlight shattered into countless silver foils on Xiaqi Lake, swaying with the ripples.

Ying Chan walked through the clouds amidst this scenery and returned to the 26th courtyard of the Jiazi building.

As soon as I arrived at the courtyard, I heard a clear and melodious voice singing joyfully from within.

Ying Chan pushed open the door and entered, smiling, "Is the fairy in a particularly good mood today?"

"Taoist priest!" the colorful sparrow chirped joyfully as it flew down, chattering, "Today I eavesdropped on a lecture at the Xuanming Altar and felt I gained a lot!"

"I feel like I'm about to achieve enlightenment!"

Ying Chan smiled upon hearing this.

While Cai Que'er claimed to be eavesdropping, that wasn't entirely true.

When the Taoist masters in the temple were giving lectures, they often saw some spirits watching from the outside. This shows that the Taoist masters in the temple did not mind spirits listening in.

Moreover, Cai Que'er's enthusiasm for this was also due to him.

Some time ago, Ying Chan encountered Chen Xiang.

When the two chatted about the colorful sparrow, Chen Xiang said that he had consulted many books and guessed that the colorful sparrow might not have become a spirit.

It should be known that in the very beginning of time, before the Daoist teachings flourished, there were already spirits and monsters.

When they were cultivating themselves, humanity was probably still in a period of ignorance.

For this reason, long before humans understood inheritance, they had already learned to pass on their wisdom and abilities through bloodlines.

This is why many beasts and birds, after becoming spirits, can naturally learn some magic.

But the colorful sparrow is even more special.

It may be a naturally intelligent and speechless mythical beast, rather than gradually evolving and gaining intelligence by sensing and collecting spiritual energy, which is why it possesses such spirituality.

Therefore, it did not actually understand how to cultivate itself.

As for why it is so intelligent, yet cannot learn to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, there are many reasons.

Perhaps those spirits failed to clearly impart the knowledge to it, after all, many of the spirits in the Taoist academy were only just beginning to develop intelligence, and very few could speak human language.

It is also possible that it is not suitable for spiritual energy such as the essence of the sun and moon.

This is quite normal. There are many strange and ferocious beasts in the world that feed on miasma, poison, and even death and disaster. Perhaps the spiritual energy that suits Cai Que'er is also very special.

In short, demons are different from humans, and no one can truly know their nature.

As for solutions, there are some.

Firstly, we should try more to see if we can sense the right spiritual energy or inspiration.

Secondly, it goes without saying that one can attain enlightenment by consuming spiritual plants or herbs, or by receiving guidance from a master.

Thirdly, listen to and learn about the Dao more often. Although the cultivation of demons is different from that of humans, since the Dao spread throughout the world, there have been many demons who have become enlightened by listening to and learning about the Dao. Moreover, after being influenced by the Dao for a long time, if they have the opportunity to transform into humans in the future, they may also be able to walk the right path of the Dao.

Since Cai Que'er is in the Taoist academy, listening to and learning more about the Tao is definitely the right thing to do.

Therefore, during this period, it was much more diligent than Yingchan...

Whether or not there has truly been a significant gain remains to be seen.

Ying Chan said, "In that case, I should prepare to congratulate the fairy."

Cai Que'er snorted, "Of course."

It should be seen that it swept away its dejection and returned to its innocent and happy appearance, with a gentle smile.

He had little free time lately, so he took the opportunity to chat with Cai Que'er for a while and talked for a bit longer.

Before the moonlight began to slant, Cai Que'er urged, "Taoist, you should be doing your homework. Don't slack off here and waste your cultivation time."

Upon hearing this, Ying Chan was speechless.

Cai Que'er said seriously, "I've heard people say that cultivating the Tao is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind! Taoists can't be lazy." "What you say is absolutely right, fairy." Ying Chan cupped his hands and smiled, "Then this humble Taoist will go back to his room to practice."

The colorful sparrow nodded and flew up to the branch.

Seeing this, Ying Chan stopped lingering in the courtyard, entered the house, and carefully put away the copies of the two books on the Way of the Vessel and the Lingying Fazuan before sitting cross-legged on the couch to begin practicing Qi cultivation.

What Cai Que'er said was indeed not wrong.

Spiritual practice is a long and arduous journey; only through continuous diligence can one go further and further.

Although Ying Chan had already opened the nine orifices and received praise from the Capital Examination Institute, it was not actually a significant achievement.

Because the opening of the Mysterious Aperture is not only easy at first and difficult later, but also, as one's cultivation level increases, the opened Mysterious Aperture can be nurtured and strengthened.

The closer one gets to perfection, the more difficult the progress becomes, and the more significant the increase in magical power.

If we were to divide the Qi Refining Realm into early, middle, and late stages, then one would need to open at least eighteen Mystic Apertures to barely pass through the early stage, which could be called 'minor success,' and open more than thirty Mystic Apertures to be considered close to the late stage.

Therefore, Ying Chanyuan was not complacent. No matter how busy he was every day, he never forgot to practice breathing exercises and accumulate spiritual power.

……

The moon set and the sun rose; the night passed without incident.

Because he had stayed in the Cloud Pavilion for a day and a night, Ying Chan spent two extra hours recuperating after practicing Qi cultivation.

When I opened my eyes, the morning light was already streaming through the crack in the window.

Ying Chan pushed open the door and saw Li Xuanying already in the courtyard.

This is not surprising, because if he hadn't gone to listen to the lecture at this time, he would definitely be practicing the Qian Yuan Foundation Building Technique in the courtyard.

But today is different.

Li Xuanying was actually practicing swordsmanship!
Ying Chan raised his eyebrows slightly, stepped into the courtyard, found a spot that wouldn't disturb Li Xuanying, and began to observe quietly.

As I looked at it, I gradually became surprised.

He was highly skilled in martial arts and had also studied swordsmanship. It was clear that Li Xuanying's control over the sword was not proficient, and his sword moves were wildly imaginative, with some moves even violating the principles of human movement.

However, this swordsmanship revealed an exceptionally sharp and fierce sword aura.

This was clearly contrary to Ying Chan's previous understanding, yet it also subtly enlightened him.

Before long, Li Xuanying withdrew his sword stance, stood still with the longsword held upside down in one hand, and let out a long breath.

Upon opening his eyes, he saw Ying Chan standing not far away, seemingly deep in thought.

"Senior brother." Li Xuanying was somewhat surprised, and called out twice more, "Senior brother?"

"Ah." Ying Chan snapped out of his daze and replied, "Xuanying, good morning."

"Good morning, Senior Brother." Li Xuanying nodded. "What were you thinking about just now, Senior Brother?"

After a moment's thought, Ying Chanlue couldn't help but ask, "The swordsmanship that Xuan Ying was just practicing wasn't ordinary, was it?"

Li Xuanying was taken aback before saying, "That's right, the 'Star-Pointing Sword Technique' that I used is actually a flying sword technique."

"No wonder!"

Ying Chan suddenly realized, "No wonder your moves are so unconventional."

"Because the art of flying swords is inherently unrestrained!"

“Exactly,” Li Xuanying said. “The art of flying swords has broken free from the constraints of techniques and places more emphasis on ‘momentum’. As long as one can comprehend the sword momentum and operate within it, various techniques will naturally come to one’s fingertips.”

After saying that, he suddenly asked Ying Chan, "Senior brother, do you know swordsmanship?"

Ying Chan said, "I do know a little about ordinary swordsmanship."

Li Xuanying's eyes lit up slightly, and he actually asked, "Senior brother, could you teach me?"

(End of this chapter)